Leopold's Lost Relic — Uncover the Verdun Altar's Secret

Your quest begins at Stift Klosterneuburg, an Augustinian abbey founded in 1103 by Margrave Leopold III of Babenberg. This architectural complex, classified as an Austrian historic monument, spans 6 hectares and includes over 50 historic buildings. It is here, in Lower Austria, that Leopold III, canonized in 1485, found his eternal rest in the crypt. The monastery also houses a library of 50,000 ancient volumes, testifying to its central role in the history of Klosterneuburg.

Continue to the Stiftskirche Klosterneuburg, the Romanesque abbey church built between 1136 and 1140 under Leopold IV. With a length of 85 meters, its single nave with transept and its 4 towers, two of which soar to 72 meters, dominate the Klosterneuburg landscape. The 14th-century Gothic stained-glass windows, restored after damage from World War II, tell sacred stories. The monumental organ with 4,000 pipes, installed in 1925, still resonates with the medieval chants that have marked Lower Austria's heritage.

The Leopoldibrunnen, a baroque fountain erected in 1715 in front of the Stiftspförtnerhaus, reveals the 3.2-meter-high statue of Leopold III, sculpted by Giovanni Giuliani. Water, drawn from a natural spring 1.5 km away, offers a flow rate of 15,000 liters per hour, an 18th-century engineering feat. Restored in 1983 after industrial pollution damage, this fountain is a vital water point for the city of Klosterneuburg and a symbol of the margrave's devotion.

Ascend the Kaiserstiege, the baroque imperial staircase built between 1732 and 1735 by Joseph Munggenast. Its 101 marble steps, 65 meters long, connect the Danube to the monastery plateau. Statues of Habsburg emperors, installed in the 18th century, line this main access point, restored in 2003. This staircase is a gateway to the estate, one of Klosterneuburg's monuments, and leads you to hidden treasures, including the Leopoldikapelle, a Gothic chapel built between 1322 and 1330 under Ottokar IV of Styria. Its ribbed vaults, among the oldest in Austria, reach an interior height of 24 meters and house the tomb of Margrave Henry II, who died in 1177.

It is in the Leopoldikapelle that you will discover the Verduner Altar, the masterpiece by Nicholas of Verdun. This altar of 12 panels (2.12 m x 1.43 m), composed of 113 champlevé enamels illustrating the Old and New Testaments, was created between 1181 and 1205. Commissioned by Leopold V, it has been exhibited in its original niche since 1884, after restoration between 1881 and 1884. This gem of 12th-century Mosan enamel, a candidate for UNESCO World Cultural Heritage, is the heart of your quest. Your visit to Klosterneuburg, following this thematic circuit of the Nicholas of Verdun Cultural Route, will have allowed you to uncover the secrets of this Austrian treasure and understand the piety of the Babenberg dukes who shaped the history of Lower Austria.